NYCC: Disney Publishing

By Benjamin Bailey, Contributing Writer

Sunday, October 10th, 2010

Disney Publishing held an intimate but lively panel on Friday at New York Comic-Con, where they took time to cover everything from “Tron” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” to Mickey Mouse and digital comics with just a little bit of “Flight of the Navigator” and “Caption EO” trivia thrown in at the end.

AWN: Animation World Network

When I was a kid, I loved going to visit my cousins in Seattle. They were avid comic collectors and I would spend hours carefully thumbing through issues of Spiderman, Fantastic Four and other plastic-sleeved titles. Perhaps this is why I enjoy the trend of motion comics as promotion. It speaks to childhood nostalgia while cutting through the clutter.

Clever marketing campaigns engage audiences in unexpected ways that connect, often with a nod and a wink, to the property’s intrinsic nature. Or to poorly paraphrase Marshall McLuhen; the medium can be a major part of the message. Motion comics are a great way of exciting prospective viewers about an upcoming film or television show, even if the property is not animated. And they provide increased opportunities for graphic designers, artists to collaborate with studios and directors.